Ex-Rutgers Student Admitted To Pre-Trial Program

NEW BRUNWSICK – A former Rutgers student accused of watching a secret computer broadcast of an encounter between Tyler Clementi and another male student has been accepted into a pre-trial intervention program.

If Molly W. Wei, 19, of West Windsor Township, completes the program, the two privacy invasion counts filed against her will be dismissed, according to Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan.

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Clementi committed suicide on Sept. 22; his story inspired campaigns for tougher laws against bullying and cyber-bullying.

Wei and Dharun Ravi, 19 of Plainsboro, both allegedly watched Ravi’s roommate, identified by the prosecutor’s office only as T.C., and another individual, later identified as M.B., on Wei’s computer. Ravi is accused of positioning and remotely accessing the webcam on his computer in the room he shared with T.C., to “observe and disclose” the images.

Wei must cooperate with law enforcement authorities and must provide truthful testimony during any future court proceedings involving Ravi as part of the terms of her pre-trial intervention program.

Following an extensive seven-month investigation by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office and the Rutgers University Police Department, Ravi was indicted on April 20 by a grand jury in Middlesex County and was charged in a 15-count indictment accusing him of initiating a plan to deliberately and repeatedly invade the privacy of T.C. and M.B. on two separate occasions.

In addition to the counts of invasion of privacy, Ravi was indicted on charges of bias intimidation, for allegedly intending to intimidate T.C. and M.B. by the invasion because of their sexual orientation, as well as charges of tampering with evidence, witness tampering and hindering his own apprehension on various dates after the second attempted invasion of privacy.

Wei appeared today before Superior Court Judge Glenn Berman, the presiding criminal court judge, at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick, she pleaded not guilty and was admitted into the pre-trial intervention program.

In addition to cooperating with law enforcement authorities, Wei will be expected to complete 300 hours of community service and must participate in counseling associated with cyber-bullying and alternate and cultural lifestyles.

Wei has remained free on her own recognizance after surrendering to the Rutgers University Police Department in New Brunswick on Sept. 27, 2010.